Minnesota hosts No. 11 Penn State and Ohio State in the final weekend of the Big Ten season. The Golden Gophers take on the Nittany Lions on Friday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. and the Buckeyes on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. Minnesota comes into the week tied for second place in the Big Ten at 14-4 with Illinois, and is 21-9 overall. Penn State is one match ahead of both teams at 15-3 and has a 26-4 overall record. The Nittany Lions come into the week with a Big Ten road record of 6-2. Ohio State is in 10th place in the Big Ten at 4-14, and has an overall record of 10-16. With two wins this weekend Minnesota would clinch at least a tie for first place in the Big ten for a second straight season.

With two matches remaining in Big Ten play, the race for first place has come down to three teams. Penn State comes into the week one match ahead of Illinois and Minnesota at 15-3. The Golden Gophers and Illinois enter the week at 14-4. The first place team will get the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. If there is a tie for first there will be tiebreakers to determine who gets the automatic bid. The Golden Gophers control their own destiny for the automatic bid should they win the remainder of their matches. Two victories this weekend would give Minnesota a season sweep over Penn State, which would give the Golden Gophers a tiebreaker if it came down to the two teams. If Illinois, Minnesota and the Nittany Lions were all tied for first place, the Golden Gophers would own the tiebreaker for games won vs. games lost over the other two teams. If Minnesota were to lose to Penn State it would be eliminated from any chance of finishing first. The Nittany Lions will take on the Golden Gophers and Iowa in its remaining two matches, while Illinois hosts Michigan and Michigan State this week.